Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
Tailfin, makers of the T1 carbon rack, just introduced the AeroPack, a waterproof roll-top seat bag mounted to a minimal rack. Just a couple days since launch, it’s already exceeded its Kickstarter funding three times over!
Just three days ago, Tailfin, a cycling accessory company based in Bristol U.K., launched a new Kickstarter campaign to seek backing for its new AeroPack product lineup. The AeroPack takes on the seat pack market and is the follow up to Tailfin’s T1 carbon rack and pannier range, which launched in 2016. Since the Kickstarter announcement, the AeroPack has already raised $80,000 USD, over three times their required goal for the product. Here’s the video followed by details:
The AeroPack line is comprised of three different models to cover road, gravel or mountain biking. Each model uses the same 20-litre waterproof roll-top pack with a built-in lightweight rigid backbone. The three products available at launch are (from left to right below), AeroPack Carbon, AeroPack Alloy, and AeroPack Trunk.
The AeroPack Carbon and the Aeropack Alloy offer a completely new design. Both consist of an integrated bag and a purpose-built rack which is permanently connected to the bag (for improved weight reduction, according to TailFin). Each features a parabolic arch with the sole purpose of supporting and stabilizing the seat pack. As you might assume, the AeroPack Carbon’s rack body is made of carbon, while the AeroPack Alloy is constructed from 6061-T6 aluminium. The AeroPack Trunk consists of a bag only, which mounts to Tailfin’s original T1 carbon pannier rack.
The AeroPack has been designed to solve a few issues that folks often have with seat packs, such as ease of packing, access to contents, compatibility with dropper posts, fitment issues on smaller bike frames with low saddle heights, and stability. To address the latter, the Tailfin AeroPack attaches to the bike via a rigid structure and engineered pivots, joints, and connectors. This eradicates any ‘tail-wag’ which often occurs with soft seat packs that are overloaded with gear. Its unclear without proper testing whether all these attachments will stand up to the rigors of off-road bikepacking, but Tailfin seems to think so.
Tailfin also claims that the AeroPack can fit virtually any bike, be it road, gravel, mountain, fatbike, or full suspension MTB, with rim or disc brakes, and with or without a dropper post. The Tailfin Axle, which features the lower mounting points, replaces either QR or thru-axles and is available in a variety of sizes, including boost and super-boost.
The AeroPack has been designed to quickly install and detach. According to Tailfin, it can be attached to a bike in a matter of seconds without tools. The bag is RF-welded (not sewn) and is completely waterproof. Unlike other rear-entry, roll-top seat packs, the AeroPack has a wide-mouthed opening that runs lengthways across the top of the pack. Theoretically, this should make it fairly easy to pack, unpack, or organize when it’s mounted to the bike. Additionally, the AeroPack features Twin Stacking Straps that allow extra gear to be added on top of the pack.
Weight
While Tailfin claims the AeroPack is super lightweight, it’s not quite as light as a typical seat pack. The AeroPack Alloy weighs in at 780 grams and the Carbon model at 600 grams. In comparison to two other waterproof seat packs, the Porcelain Rocket Mr. Fusion weighs 450 grams including the rack, and the Revelate Terrapin weighs 538 grams.
Tire Clearance
The Tailfin AeroPack Alloy model offers the most versatility with clearance for 26 x 4.8″ fat tires, 29 x 4.0″, and 27.5 x 4.4″. The Carbon model allows tires up to 27.5 x 3.0″ and 29 x 2.5″ or anything in the 700c variety.
Both the Alloy and Carbon models allow a load up to 12kg (26.5 pounds) and are set to retail for $289 and $345, respectively. Learn more at Tailfin’s Kickstarter page.
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